gun safety as shiny objects dominate the beltway media coverage. >> how often does the president go skeet shooting? and are there photographs of him doing so? >> tonight, i'll take the fourth estate to task for missing the big picture with katrina vanden heuvel of "the nation" and msnbc's richard wolffe. plus, minneapolis mayor r.t. rybak on how he is lowering gun violence in his city, and why he thinks senate majority leader harry reid needs to get to work on guns. the boy scouts are getting ready to end their policy of discrimination against gays, and the president is standing with them. >> should scouting be open to gays? >> yes. >> i'll tell you how conservatives are fighting the process. it's the super bowl commercial everybody is talking about. >> god looked down on his planned paradise and said i need a caretaker. so god made a farmer. >> god created the family farmer.

i'll tell you how republicans are destroying them. all that plus e.j. dionne, karen finney and jonathan alter on why conservatives are actually trying to blame the super bowl blackout on the president. good to have you with us tonight, folks. thanks for watching. there is a major development on gun legislation today, but there is a good chance you haven't heard about it. president obama continued the push for commonsense gun reform today in minneapolis. he was surrounded by law enforcement officers with the city and the state. the president asked americans to stand with the men and women in the line of fire. >> weapons of war have no place on our streets or in our schools or threatening our law enforcement officers. our law enforcement officers should never be outgunned on the streets. [ applause ] >> the president has outlined a full list of proposals to curb gun violence in america. very quietly, many of those proposals are picking up steam on capitol hill.

senate majority leader harry reid said he expects a bill will soon move to the senate floor. the package will include a universal background check, a capacity limit on ammunition magazines, and improvements to record-keeping on mental illness. a universal background check is in sight. and this is probably what they're really going to get. advocacy groups are trying to build momentum. last night, this ad from mayors against illegal guns aired during the super bowl. >> the nra once supported background checks. >> we think it's reasonable to provide mandatory instant criminal background checks for every sale at every gun show. no loopholes anywhere for anyone. >> america can do this for us. >> opponents of a background check rely on fearmongering. nra chief wayne lapierre spread ridiculous lies on fox news sunday.

>> what they'll do is they'll turn this universal check on the law abiding into a universal registry of law-abiding people. and law-abiding people don't want that. >> well, law-abiding people want a universal background check system. more than nine in ten gun households want one. more than eight in ten nra members say the same thing. the president is quick to point out the popularity of the law. >> we know, for example, from polling that universal background checks are universally supported just about by gun owners. the overwhelming majority of gun owners think that's a good idea. so if we have lobbyists in washington claiming to speak for gun owners saying something different, we need to go to the source and reach out to people directly. we can't allow those filters to get in the way of common sense. >> the gun lobby is worried. the president is making headway on this issue, which is why his opponents insist on distracting the country with things like this.

the white house released a photo of president obama skeet shooting while at camp david in august. in fact, it was on his birthday. the gun lobby wants everyone to be talking about this photo. and the press, what are they doing? they're playing right along with it. this all started when the "new this all started when the "new republic" released a wide-ranging interview with the president. but the focus has been on this exchange. the president was asked directly, have you ever fired a gun? he answered directly, yes. in fact, up at camp david, we do skeet shooting all the time. the answer created a frenzy in the washington media. >> how often does the president go skeet shooting, and are there photographs of him doing so? >> i would refer you simply to his comments. i don't know how often. he does go to camp david with some regularity, but i'm not sure how often he has done that. >> is there a photograph of him doing it? >> there may be, but i haven't seen it. >> why haven't we heard about it before? >> because when he goes to camp

david, he goes to spend time with his family and friends and relax, not to produce photographs. >> that's what the american people want to know. that's really what they want to know. all these issues on the table, it's just how many, how often, where, does he really? jay carney's answer is never going to be good enough, because it's about president obama. "the washington post" wrote more than 1300 words fact checking the president's answer. they wrote, "we are eager to see a photograph or hear from someone who saw him at the skeet range to put this matter to rest." of course, fox news was quick to keep the fire raging all week long. so the white house, all right, they went along with it. they released a photograph. now what do you think? instead of ending the conversation, the press forced it even more. focused on it even more. now, "the washington post" was on defense. basically, all statements by public figures are subject to scrutiny. the president made an unexpected claim.

and for nearly a week the white house refused to back it up. but in the end, they concluded the issue is settled. not according to the white house press corps. these are some of the questions jay carney was asked during his media availability today. why release the photo now? was the president shooting skeet or trap? does he ever shoot weapons or did he ever shoot weapons before he was president? did he ever shoot weapons elsewhere? will you release photos of friends or family or guests? carney responded, "the fact is that the president was asked a question. he did not volunteer, but was asked a question about whether or not he had ever shot a weapon. he answered with the truth, which is he has enjoyed shooting competitively with friends at camp david on multiple occasions. did they all pick up on that? multiple occasions. this photo completely overshadowed the talk of

universal background checks is what we should be talking about and also did nothing to end protests. the president knocked the nra, saying one picture does not ease a lifetime of supporting every gun ban, every gun control scheme imaginable. the washington press has a responsibility to ask the president tough questions about things affecting all americans. a photo of the president shooting skeet does not affect gun laws one bit. it only distracts from the major issues at hand. so the bottom line comes down to this. the smiles are great at the press conferences with jay carney, but is this really what the american people are concerned about, what the president does on his free time at camp david? and does he always have to step forward with some evidence that he has told the truth to reporters? and this is just a big demand coming from the washington media that he has to show this photo so everybody will believe that he really has touched a gun and fired a gun and has some noise

canceling headsets on. kind of parallels the birthers, doesn't it? we won't believe it until we see it and then we still won't believe it after we see it. get your cell phones out. i want to know what you think. tonight's question, does the beltway media have america's best interest at heart? text "a" for yes, text "b" for no. got a new number tonight. here's the text number. 67622. i have to learn how to say that fast. that's right. we have a new text number. it is now 67622. you can always go to our blog at ed.msnbc.com. we'll bring you the results later in the program. i'm joined tonight by katrina vanden heuvel editor and part owner of "the nation" magazine and richard wolffe, the executive editor of msnbc.com and an msnbc political analyst. great to have both of you with us tonight. i've never seen a picture get so much attention except when dick cheney shot somebody in the face, which the president hasn't done. katrina, is the press being

negligent when we start getting down to the serious conversation of background checks that they're focusing on stuff like this? >> yeah, i mean, i think we're looking at inside the beltway media malpractice. and it's not new, ed. i'm thinking we're on the tenth much of the press played the press essentially much of the press played stenographers to power, not an accountability watchdog media which we need. this skeet shooting incident has nothing to do, it's utterly irrelevant with the actual policy proposals now under debate. so you have to ask yourself, who does the media inside the beltway think it's representing? we've seen these problems before. the country is worried about joblessness. inside the beltway, the media keeps pushing the president on debt and deficits. i'd like to know also, i don't you think of the fundamental issues confronting this country, but on the gun issue, why wasn't there a single question about the 15-year-old chicago girl, hadiya pendleton, who marched in the parade in the inauguration and was gunned down, the 42nd victim of gun violence in

chicago in january? that might be relevant to the issue of how do you stop trafficking of illegal weapons and relevant to the actual policy debates under way in this country. >> richard, why does inside the beltway media have a propensity to just focus on things that people don't care about? >> look, i've been part of that press corps. i was there actually at the time in the run-up to the war in iraq, and, by the way, there were people asking those questions, but as a pack, as a pack mentality, this is a game. look, the war in iraq was serious. don't get me wrong. but we're talking about kids in america who were killed and how to respond to that. and so, you know, the disjoint between this photo, what the president does in his leisure time, whether it's real or not, how often he does it, and the cold, hard facts of american children being killed by assault weapons in our schools, that seems to be -- we didn't know where iraq would go. i'm not trying to make any excuses for how the press corps behaved. but we have two very compelling stories here.

one of them is actually about children dying and how you respond to that. and the other is about a photo. so i actually think they have kind of disappeared into their own world and their own competitive desires, which is let's have some fun with this. let's get some clicks and let's have something that is shareable. people love that photo. but at the heart, if you're going to hold people accountable, if "the washington post" is true to its word, you hold public officials accountable not for a random comment, but for their policy, for the effects of their policy. >> that's right. there has to be -- >> that is what the job of the press is. >> there has to be a sense of an accountability media. and i think too often, and it comes from the top too when we face corporations where the news enterprise is a small cog in the system, that you're witnessing sometimes the obliteration of the line between news and entertainment. that's why there was more attention to beyonce was she lip-synching or not than to perhaps some of the issues and policies in the president's

inaugural address or kim kardashian's baby bump. those kinds of issues take too much of our time when we should be talking about the crises facing our country. and too often the beltway media follows power, doesn't raise the tough questions that people in a democracy deserve to hear. we need to learn more about what is going on with the gun debate. and, by the way, the president going to minneapolis i think is very important because he needs to get outside of d.c. and press his message, as he did in las vegas with immigration, as he did today in minneapolis. a city which has seen a drop of youth gun violence by 41%. and those optics of law enforcement behind him. he knows he needs to do what he didn't do effectively as much post-2008. get out of the beltway. >> that's where he is most effective, there is no question about that. but here we are on the verge of trying to get something done. and the media is focusing on the president skeet shooting instead of the president talking about universal background checks and will harry reid actually bring the assault weapons ban to the floor.

some real heavy stuff. >> but we've seen this before. the serious policy debates don't get the coverage they deserve. but the president can drive it more. and media like "the nation" or msnbc can try to amplify the serious messages that need to be heard, the serious policy, the serious accountability journals that needs to be heard if there is going to be some advance. >> let's just be clear here, okay. so say the president gets the background checks that we all assume that is going to be there. and if wayne lapierre thought it was a good deal once, then maybe he'll think ultimately it's a good deal again. but that wouldn't have stopped this particular shooting in newtown, however, the high-capacity magazines, that's where the press needs to ask the questions. is the president willing to go out, stick his neck out on the line for this and say this is what his administration really cares about? that's where, you know, there is real journalism to be done in terms of what the white house strategy is. >> closing the gun show loophole

would be a big step forward because that's 40% of the sales in this country. obviously, the background checks, the magazine, all of that stuff, you know, people's lives have definitely been lost because of some things have slipped through the cracks. we can do a better job. yet, we're focusing on the president skeet shooting. i find it amazing. great to have both of you with us tonight, katrina vanden heuvel and richard wolffe. remember to answer tonight's question there at the bottom of the screen. share your thoughts with us on twitter, ed show and on facebook. we want to know what you think. coming up, president obama tries to offer solutions, but the nra mouthpiece wayne lapierre keeps. throwing up roadblocks. and in minneapolis they have reduced crimes by 40%. r.t. rybak joins us. . . step seven point two one two. verify and lock. command is locked. five seconds. three, two, one. standing by for capture. the most innovative software on the planet... dragon is captured.

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>> brownie does a heck of a job mocking the superdome blackout on twitter, and the republicans use it to attack the president's unreasonable panel. and president obama's evolution on gay rights continues while republicans claim there is a war on scouts. we'll have the latest on the boy scouts' big decision on gay members later. you can listen to my radio show at sirius xm radio channel 127 monday through friday, noon to 3:00 p.m. share your thoughts with us on facebook and on twitter using the #edshow. we're coming right back. [ breathes deeply, wind blows ] [ male announcer ] halls. let the cool in.

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welcome back to "the ed show." today president obama pushed for solutions to gun violence by taking his ideas for commonsense measures to minneapolis, which has had huge success on the issue. >> this city came together. you launched a series of youth initiatives that have reduced the number of young people injured by guns by 40%. >> this week then we learned of another high-profile senseless killing. former navy s.e.a.l. chris kyle and another man, chad littlefield, were killed saturday at a gun range in texas. the two men had taken a veteran, former marine eddie ray routh, to the gun range, and routh allegedly shot both of them. routh reportedly has a recent history of mental illness and is

in police custody on a suicide watch. the gun lobbyists' self-appointed mouthpiece wayne lapierre was asked about the latest tragedy. >> you fix the mental health system. every police officer knows people on the street that should be institutionalized because we've emptied our institutionalized. they're out there walking around on the street. we need to change our civil commitment laws. we need to change the mental health system, fund it, make it work, get these people into treatment. we're not doing that. i still would like to see the mental health records computerized but we can't even get that done. >> he was asked about the president's push for background checks. here's what he had to say about that. >> it's a fraud to call universal. it's never going to be universal. the criminals aren't going to comply with it. they could care less. you're not going to computerize -- you've already seen you're not going to computerize the mental health records. so here's what's going to

happen. we ought to quit calling it right now universal checks. the real title ought to be the check on law-abiding people all over this country. >> lapierre fully supported background checks in 1999. >> let's talk what is reasonable and what is not. we think it's reasonable to provide mandatory instant criminal background checks for every sale at every gun show. no loopholes anywhere for anyone. >> the solutions for these tragedies aren't always simple, but it doesn't mean we should be giving up. joining me now is r.t. rybak, mayor of minneapolis. the president -- great to have you with us tonight, r.t. i appreciate your time for coming in on this subject. it's so vitally important. >> i'm thrilled you're covering it, ed. >> you bet. president obama praised the efforts of your city. how did you do it? how were you able to impact the youth gun violence in minneapolis? >> well, the minneapolis model for reducing gun violence was really especially about young people. we focused on -- got the whole community together, 32-point plan that was really tied to

surrounding young people with trusted adults and intervening at the first sign of at-risk behavior. and we worked the plan and worked the plan and worked the plan. 40% decrease in juvenile crime is a huge impact. but one of the reasons the president was here was to say that was good work. but one of the reasons we wanted him here was to say it's not enough. we need commonsense laws because i've been at too many homicides with a mom and a kid who is dead and trying to explain where did that gun come from. and there are laws that say the police and the federal officials can't share information, there are laws that say mental health records can't be computerized. change those laws. fix that, and help us bring a little more peace to the streets. >> where are we right now? i bring you forward on this subject. i understand you were critical of harry reid today. here's senate majority leader harry reid. i want you to respond to this. >> i have said to senator leahy, i want a bill to come out of the judicial committee. if dianne feinstein by the time it's through the judiciary committee, if she doesn't have

her assault weapons, at least let her have an opportunity to offer this amendment. >> will you vote for it? >> oh, i don't know. frankly, and she knows, i haven't read her amendment. i didn't vote for the assault weapons last time because it didn't make sense. but i'll take a look at it. >> mayor, is senator reid doing enough to move this legislation? >> i believe he should read the amendment and listen to a former mayor, dianne feinstein, who stuck her finger in a bullet hole at a scene of a crime. that's what we see as mayors. in washington assault ban weapon, it's a political issue. here is how it sounds to me. my daughter will be teaching school next year. if somebody is in the horrible situation of shooting in that classroom, and they're forced to reload the gun, that may be my daughter's life, that may be your child's life. force people to reload. my god, if we can't do that, it's horrible enough about what is happening out here. but stop and think about it. when you hear assault weapons

ban, don't think what they're talking about in washington. think about forcing people to reload so we can walk back at least a few lives in mass murder. my god, isn't that enough? >> so you're saying that in washington, the assault weapons ban is political. would you go so far as to say that the lobbyists are intimidating the lawmakers? the lawmakers know what to do, they just won't do it? >> well, i'm a politician. a lot of things are political. but what does seem to happen is there is this whole thing like oh, gee, the nra is going to unelect me. well, by the way, they lost most of the elections. they lost their number one goal, which was to stop president obama. so let's get away from this idea that everything we do has to be because we're afraid of the nra. there are lots of good nra members, and they're law-abiding citizens. their leaders are seemingly out of control. and what we need to do is to have people get a backbone and say that, yeah, it is right to not have our police outgunned. yes, it is right to say that if we have the option between a shooting and a mass murder, we should choose, my god, the least of those hideous things. that's the kind of common sense

we need people to have and guts we need them to have. and, by the way, if you're afraid of the nra, i want you to talk to some of the real lobbyists out here, the people who have been victims, whose families have lost people. they're by the thousands now in this country, and they're multiplying every day. you want to see a lobby that is going to be on your case if you don't take action? we got them all over this country. >> but why isn't harry reid being stronger, in your opinion? i mean, you heard his answer there. he said he didn't vote for it before. doesn't sound like he is going to vote for it again. isn't this a moment for leadership? i mean, if the majority of americans want this, shouldn't the senate majority leader step up and say, you know what, we got to move in this direction? >> i don't think harry reid is the only problem. the problem is that folks in washington have calculated that they think it's bad politics to be for banning weapons and clips that force you to reload. they think that's bad politics. and i think their calculation is just wrong. i think it's good politics. and, my god, it's the right thing to do. >> mayor r.t. rybak, good to

have you with us on "the ed show." thanks so much. coming up, chrysler ran a great super bowl ad this year praising the american family farmer. but farms will be in danger if congress fails to pass a farm bill. i'll have the details for you coming up. and who killed the likes of the super bowl? right-wingers have their theories. jonathan alter, karen finney and e.j. dionne will weigh in on that. stay with us. we'll be right back with "the ed show." [ male announcer ] coughequence™ #8. waking the baby. [ coughs ] [ baby crying ] ♪

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welcome back to "the ed show." thanks for watching tonight. you know, some voices just stop you in your tracks and command attention. last night, america was treated to a two-minute commercial about the american small farmer, voiced by the deceased radio icon paul harvey. harvey was the voice of middle america for 51 years. chrysler used a 1978 speech by paul harvey that he gave to the future farmers of america to highlight their new ram trucks. here is the rest of the story. >> and on the eighth day, god looked down on his planned paradise and said, i need a caretaker, so god made a farmer. it had to be somebody who would plow deep and straight and not cut corners, somebody to feed, weed, seed, break and strain the milk, somebody who would bale a family together with the soft, strong bonds of sharing, who would laugh and then sigh and

then reply with smiling eyes when his son says that he wants to spend his life doing what dad does, so god made a farmer. >> that writing, that distinct delivery. spectacular ad, no doubt about it. but, unfortunately, being a family farmer in america is a dying profession. you can thank republicans for their decline. in 1935, there were 6.8 million farms in america. today the number has dropped to just over 2 million. and out of the remaining farms, most are struggling to stay in business. out of the 2.2 million farms in operation, 1.9 million are small family farms. small family farms make up, what? 87% of total farms in the united states, but they produce only 15% of the total crop value. on the other hand, very large family farms and corporate farms

bring in the remaining 85% of profit in america in the industry. meanwhile, small family farms are always, i guess you could say, one disaster away from extinction. one in four of these farms make less than $50,000 a year. if a drought or any disaster hits, these small farms don't have a chance. but large farms and corporate farms can afford to take a hit from time to time. this is why it's so important for congress to do its part to protect the family farmer. it starts i guess you could say with the farm bill. price supports and disaster relief very important, are things that will only keep the family farms in business in tough times. the senate passed their version of the farm bill last session, but as expected, john boehner's do nothing house sat on the bill. and now it will have to be redone in the 113th congress. boehner doesn't need a single democratic vote to pass this thing. he has the majority.

if he is for the american farmer, if he is for the heartland, he ought to bring the farm bill to the floor for a vote. but he refuses to do that. i hope john boehner and the rest of the house republicans watch chrysler's ad and understand what it means. farmers helped build america and are vital to our future success as a nation. if small family farms get into trouble, they deserve help from the government. chrysler did another fantastic job this year with their ad. they are providing and proving again what american exceptionalism is all about. there is a lot more to come in the next half hour of "the ed show." stay with us. >> uh-oh, we lost lights. >> when the lights went out in new orleans, you knew it was just a matter of time until republicans started blaming president obama. jonathan alter, e.j. dionne and karen finney on the politics of the big game is next.

plus, the right-wing freak-out to the president's latest endorsement of equality. >> should scouting be open to gays? >> yes. and first it was a miracle in the desert. now ohio's radical republican governor is actually coming around on obama care. we'll explain john kasich's liberal conversion ahead. officemax is celebrating our new collaboration with go daddy! with an online package including: domain name, website builder with five pages and basic email just $49.99!

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that a substation detected an abnormality and automatically cut power. but at this point that's all they know. fortunately, conservatives have a few theories of their own. many right-wingers took to twitter and social media just blew up, and of course blaming the obama administration, pointing to this department of energy press release detailing the city of new orleans embracing of energy efficiency. "the daily caller" writing "what is more energy-efficient than darkness? green is the new blackout." this tweet from herman cain, "the department of energy wanted you to know that last night's super bowl was the greatest -- or the greenest ever. then the lights went out." from a "wall street journal" columnist, "super bowl xlvii is brought to you by solyndra." and from laura ingraham, "how long before we hear from the white house about the need for another multibillion stimulus to rebuild the power grid?" and donald trump, "the country is being run just like the

stadium." meanwhile, former bush administration fema director michael brown -- you know brownie, who spent days ignoring what was going on in the superdome during hurricane katrina -- used the blackout to comment not on infrastructure, but on the residents of new orleans. "someone just told me there was fighting going on in new orleans superdome. #shocked." let's bring in our panel tonight. jonathan alter with us, bloomberg view, msnbc political analyst karen finney, and also "washington post's" e.j. dionne. well, sometimes the right just doesn't take a rest on anything. i was absolutely surprised to hear from brownie last night during the super bowl. who would have ever thought it? e.j., what was most surprising when it was all unfolding to you? >> well, first of all, i mean i'm just shocked that brownie wanted to get out there on anything having to do with new orleans. i just want to turn it around a little and say that my super

bowl mvps are the electricians, the technicians and other workers who got those lights back on in a half hour, a little over a half an hour. i mean, we don't realize or think much about how much we depend on folks like that until we really need them. but in terms of these other explanations, i am just surprised that the right hasn't yet blamed beyonce for being a secret partner of solyndra. i mean, what are they going to come up with? >> the other point here is that, karen, they just never miss an opportunity to go after the president and degrade him, do they? >> that's right. and remember, i mean beyonce was a supporter of the president. so i'm sure if there is some way to pin it back on her, they will figure it out. but sure. any opportunity to blame the president. and, frankly, you know, the tweets that you just shared distract from what is a very real conversation that we should be having about the power grid, about infrastructure in this country. that's not a conversation they want to have. >> jonathan, your thoughts on

how it all unfolded in the aftermath. >> well, you know, i kept being struck by why they didn't let the players warm up before they resumed play. they were risking injury. fortunately, there were not any injuries as a result. but it's standard in those situations to give them some warm-up time. then i realized money talks. you know, the advertisers obviously did not want to have any longer of a delay. there was so many -- there was so much money at stake that they were willing to risk injuries to resume the game. >> these guys are professionals. they know how to get ready. i was rather entertained by all the conversation about oh, how is this going to affect them psychologically? who has the advantage? finally it got back to phil simms and he said you know what? they're professionals. they know how to handle this. i tweeted out, "thank you, phil simms." >> no, but the 49ers had a huge psychological advantage after the blackout. it was really peculiar. they put all these points on the board right away. so sometimes these things can

mark a kind of psychological break point in the momentum of a game. and the ravens went on to win. but they almost lost. >> i was sort of intrigued by the idea that nobody thought -- i mean, half the lights were on, and yet the thought of potentially, i don't know, continuing without all of the sort of bells and whistles that we have become so accustomed to was just not even an idea on the table. >> the super bowl didn't have a light backup plan. i mean, come on, america! i mean -- >> you know, this is only the kind of thing that nerds, political nerds like us would say. but the only comparable situation i can remember when the whole world was watching was in 1976 when jimmy carter and gerald ford were debating, and they had this blackout, this technical problem. and for several minutes, they just stood there on the stage. and, you know, 100 million americans just stood by until the debate resumed. >> well, i got to ask the question. who came out with the momentum after the lights went out?

i can't remember that one. >> i think carter. he went on to win the election. >> but the 49ers and the ravens handled the blackout better i think than carter and ford did that night. >> we've got a commercial. e.j., your thoughts on paul harvey's voice being used on the future farmers of america and of course selling trucks. and we know that the landscape in america and life has changed so much in rural america. what did you make of this? >> well, i loved the ad. in fact, i thought what it reminded me of was the clint eastwood ad for chrysler. >> yeah. >> and, you know, the advantage they have is paul harvey is not going to come back with a chair at a republican convention. but i thought it was a beautiful ad. you almost expected to hear john cougar mellencamp's old songs that he used to sing at farm aid concerts is what i was thinking as i was watching. >> was there a political message there at all, do you think, karen? >> i do, actually. as it was playing, sort of thinking that there is a slice of america that we're losing.

i mean, you talked about that, frankly, just before this segment. and there are very real reasons why family farmers and small farmers are struggling in this country. and, you know, there were beautiful images and things that we should be very proud of in terms of the american ethic of hard work and all of that. and yet we're not taking care of those values and not cherishing those values and doing the things that we can to preserve that in the ways that i think we could be. >> jonathan, what about the ad that the mayors against illegal guns took out? effective? your thoughts. >> yeah, i think it was effective. you know, this is a long twilight struggle, as jfk said about the cold war. this issue is not going to be resolved soon. it's not just about whether there is an assault weapons ban, whether this piece of legislation that comes up is as complete as you and i would like it to be. liberals and commonsense supporters of gun safety need to

look at it in the long term. and the mayors are playing an important role, but they need more people -- >> yeah. >> -- like those in the farm ad in the chrysler ad. those folks to get involved to really make change on guns. >> jonathan alter, karen finney, e.j. dionne, great to have you with us tonight. thanks so much. ohio governor john kasich says yes to medicaid expansion. his republican resistance to obama care beginning to weaken. stay tuned. it's a new day. if your a man with low testosterone, you should know that axiron is here. the only underarm treatment for low t. that's right, the one you apply to the underarm. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18. axiron can transfer to others through direct contact. women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant, and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. report these signs and symptoms to your doctor if they occur. tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications.

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you can go to our facebook page right now and join the conversation. and don't forget to like "the ed show" when you're there. we like that. still to come, the boy scouts consider lifting their ban on gay members, and conservatives are calling it a war on scouts. i'll have the details coming up. stay with us. ♪ alright, let's go. ♪ shimmy, shimmy chocolate. ♪ shimmy, shimmy chocolate. ♪ we, we chocolate cross over. ♪ yeah, we chocolate cross over. ♪ [ male announcer ] introducing fiber one 80 calorie chocolate cereal. ♪ chocolate. otherworldly things. but there are some things i've never seen before. this ge jet engine can understand 5,000 data samples per second. which is good for business. because planes use less fuel, spend less time on the ground and more time in the air. suddenly, faraway places don't seem so...far away. ♪

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welcome back to "the ed show." today ohio governor john kasich broke ranks with the republican party's unified objections to all things obama care and said that he will push to expand medicaid under the affordable care act. >> now, i, as you all know here, am not a supporter of obama care. but i think that this makes great sense for the state of ohio, and it makes great sense for the state of ohio because i think it will allow us to deliver care using our dollars to people who up until now haven't even been able to afford a care through their job or they weren't able to even find a job, and they're extremely poor.

>> so he is not a fan of it, but he is going to go ahead and do it. okay. kasich is the fifth republican governor to make the case for medicaid expansion. and supposed obama care opponent

playing the part of compassionate conservative. he knows running for re-election in a purple state require a more subtle approach. the fellow republicans may cry foul by any responsible person should be celebrating this step in the right direction whatever the motivation is. tonight i asked does the beltway media have the best interest of heart. 5% say yes. 95% say no. coming up, they call it the war on boy scouts. find out which conservatives should get a merit badge for fear mongering. stay tuned. ♪

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yeah, that would be cool. introducing the completely reimagined nissan altima. it's our most innovative altima ever. nissan. innovation that excites. now get a $199-per-month lease on the 2013 nissan altima. ♪ and in the big finish tonight, conservatives are freaking out about what they believe is the end of an american institution. they're worried the boy scouts of america could allow gay members. last night the president weighed in on it. >> should scouting be open to gays? >> yes. >> why so? >> because i think my attitude is gays and lesbians should have access and opportunity the same way everybody else does. >> major corporate sponsors want to lift the boy scouts ban on gay membership. the national executive board

could vote this wednesday to lift the national gay ban and allow local troops to make their own decisions. rick santorum calls it a war on scouts. he says the board is abandoning the organization's founding moral principles. the former presidential candidate thinks it's a challenge to the scouts' very nature, and that the left is trying to remove god. santorum also predicts every troop will get sued, or members will just simply leave. santorum calls this the end of scouting and says, quote, i hope the board of the scouts doesn't have its fingerprints on the murder weapon. texas governor rick perry is equally dramatic. >> what has worked very well for scouting and to have popular culture impact 100 years of their standards is inappropriate. >> but this isn't about a fad or popular culture. scouting membership has dropped 21% since the supreme court upheld the gay ban in 2000. adult membership is down 14%.

and there are almost 13% fewer scouting units nationwide. boy scout sponsors know we're a center-left nation. people like santorum and perry pretty much by the numbers are out of step. let's turn to michael rogers, gay activist and managing director of rawstory.com. mike, good to have you with us tonight. >> thanks, ed. good evening. >> the president weighing in on this, does this change anything? >> well, i think as we saw across the country when the president put out his opinion on marriage that people pay attention. he is able to use the bully pulpit to help educate americans. i've already heard from people today who were not even aware of the ban on the boy scouts having openly gay leaders and members. so i think just from an educational perspective and the certainty of his answer when you saw, when asked it was an immediate yes, no hesitation in any way whatsoever. and i think the american people see that and take that to heart.

>> when you listen to staunch conservatives like santorum and rick perry, you have to ask the question, will lifting the ban on gays destroy scouting? they believe it will. >> well, you know, if something was destroyed every time rick perry or rick santorum said that it was going to be destroyed by some cause or action, the planet would be destroyed i think at this point. >> well, why does scouting ban gays? why have they in the past? >> thing has been a real misunderstanding that by banning gay people, they're protecting things from adults with inappropriate sexual activity, when the statement and the facts actually point to something totally differently. it's when people are repressed, whether it's men or women, but men, when they're repressed in their sexuality, we see that they turn and do things to young children. most child abusers are

heterosexual. the people who are putting out misinformation will try to convince you otherwise. and i think in this day and age, that as we see marriage taking root across the country and things like that, people are starting to realize those are in fact outdated thoughts. >> do you expect religious sponsors to weigh in on this soon? >> i do. i think there is a variety of religious sponsors that will be involved. and the scouting program a large part of the mormon church of their youth program. and of course they haven't exactly had a very pro-gay record, if you know what i'm saying. so it will be interesting. and also to see what the donors and the corporate sponsors. that's been a big motivator in this where corporations are stepping up to the plate and say we will no longer fund something that excludes a portion of society for no reason whatsoever. going so far we'll say it's actually pretty certain that the founder of the boy scouts himself in england was gay, the original guy who founded